Although he won't be producing it day-to-day.
Monica Owusu-Breen has been tapped to write and producer a fresh version of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, possibly with a black actress taking over the lead role in a contemporary take on the material (although there are some rumours that this has been confused and it may instead be a "next generation" deal with a new Slayer character instead). 20th Century Fox have been apparently keen to do this for a year or so and have spent most of their time working to get a reluctant Whedon involved.
Whedon will produce from afar and will co-write the first episode, but his new HBO gig, THE NEVERS, will prevent him from being involved more regularly.
Okay, I guess? It's been 21 years, so a reasonable amount of time for a remake, although I'd be more interested in a show that revisited the characters in middle age. That'd be a logistically difficult and impractical show to make though (since you couldn't really have 20-year older vampire characters showing up).
Can we get someone to take Freehold's blood pressure please?
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GGRRRAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH H
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I'd have issues with either option, reboot or next gen.
Reboot: C'mon, between Kristy Swanson and SMG, we've done the origin story twice already. Is BtVS the next Batman/Spiderman? Plus, SMG, Charisma Carpenter, Alyson Hannigan and company defined Buffy and the Scooby gang for me, I doubt I'd ever accept anyone else in those roles.
Next gen: When the previous series ended, all potential Slayers had been activated, so there were...dozens?...hundreds? of young girls who all had the power of Buffy. You'd almost certainly have to ignore that in order to make a next gen series about "the" Slayer.
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A next gen would invalidate the comic continuation and the dystopian future slayer. Which from what I understand is cannon.
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Yeah, sucks. Not a good idea. Get some original ideas, Hollywood guys. Or at least so original that it isn't another reboot. Did you hear that they are planning a Magnum PI reboot? Sheesh.
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Love the original but this is pointless and uninteresting.
You'd almost certainly have to ignore that in order to make a next gen series about "the" Slayer.
Or lean into it. Something happens that means the Slayers are "deactivated" again, someone kills Faith (sorry Eliza) and a new "THE" Slayer is activated. Buffy's around somewhere but MIA and the new Slayer has to track her down or something.
It's a plot point you can use as a springboard into a new story, not a logjam that prevents a new story from happening.
A next gen would invalidate the comic continuation and the dystopian future slayer. Which from what I understand is cannon.
These days, especially in Hollywood, things are canon until they're not.
But yeah, this is certainly a remake rather than a continuation.
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Original report from the Hollywood Reporter
Series doesn't have a network. So they're making a pilot and outlining a series... but it needs to be picked up and greenlit before it happens. There's no network, no directors, no cast yet.
So as to leave SMG as well as the comic sequels in its own continuity, it is likely indeed to just be a reboot. Which if they're going to do at all is probably better.
I'm not sure if the concept reboots well today, though I guess seeing Buffy worry about what the kids are saying about her on social media could be... a thing. And if they're casting a person of color as the heroine--that's great. It's not the original concept (which was "typical blonde waify Hitchcock protagonist actually gets to fight back against the monsters") but that's okay. We don't need that again.
Sounds like Whedon is backing it and allowing it to happen, but letting another creative team tackle the details which... frankly, is good, if it does actually happen.
And there's a long way to go before it might happen at all.
Could this re-boot simply be an attempt to make a quick buck by leveraging the identity politics of the day?
We are not allowed to discuss politics on the forums, "identity" or otherwise.
Obviously the people hoping to pitch the show to a network believes it has a target audience large enough it would earn adequate advertising dollars to make. Whether that is through addressing social issues or accessing a demographic normally untapped compared to "typical" viewing audiences (for example, for primetime, males 18-49, or for daytime programming females 30+) remains to be seen. Given it has a scriptwriter and a producer, and no other known crew, staff, or cast, it's probably awhile before we know more.
And of course it's also possible it is never picked up because it will not be considered lucrative (whether that assessment is accurate or not).
All I know is, my sister in laws are already going crazy for it.
As far as getting it greenlit, if it's half way serious just shop it to Netflix and Hulu, one of them will order a season just on name alone.
And if they're casting a person of color as the heroine--that's great.
I have mixed feeling about this, specifically with regard to reboots. There is no question that more diversity in leading roles is a good thing, but somehow it feels like half-assing that job when its done in connection with remakes.
The Equalizer, SWAT (the role of Hondo), Buffy, James West*...none of those characters needed to be white originally. IMHO, none of those properties needed remakes/reboots; that's just Hollywood being lazy. In any case, recasting a previously white character with an actor of color isn't real progress toward diversity if the "new" character is essentially the same as the original in heavy makeup.
*Okay, James West arguably does make more sense as a Caucasian man.
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So... the original story of Buffy is again, a heroicized version of the Hitchcock heroine, someone who usually is blonde, white, conventionally pretty, and possessing of a certain amount of privilege, but has come down on her luck. Buffy is supposed to "have it all" and be beloved, easily popular, and fit all conventional standards of acceptability---and then her being Chosen is the thing that tears that all and sets all of her advantages she was born with aside. Buffy's journey is then learning how to be different--and moreover important and heroic--for the first time.
It's a good story. But do we need that exact story again?
If they change it by having Buffy be a character who accepts or struggles with difference already, and an easy way to do that is to take away some obvious potential social advantage they have like whiteness, then you get a chance to put a new angle on the story. And the struggle to answer the call becomes something else.
Which means even in reboot form, they can do something different with the story and it isn't just a rehash of what we've already seen. That's potentially a good thing.
However if they slot a person of color in the exact role of Buffy and don't address how that might affect her perspective on things, then it's not a good idea.
Is it a good idea to reboot at all? That's a whole other issue. I don't think we need it, but it's so early in its inception I'm not worried about it.
And in fairness, I didn't think Charmed needed to be rebooted, but the new version looks like it's going to be awesome (in the context that Charmed was always a bit cheesy and had fun with its cheese to begin with).
So... the original story of Buffy is again, a heroicized version of the Hitchcock heroine, someone who usually is blonde, white, conventionally pretty, and possessing of a certain amount of privilege, but has come down on her luck. Buffy is supposed to "have it all" and be beloved, easily popular, and fit all conventional standards of acceptability---and then her being Chosen is the thing that tears that all and sets all of her advantages she was born with aside. Buffy's journey is then learning how to be different--and moreover important and heroic--for the first time.
It's a good story. But do we need that exact story again?
If they change it by having Buffy be a character who accepts or struggles with difference already, and an easy way to do that is to take away some obvious potential social advantage they have like whiteness, then you get a chance to put a new angle on the story. And the struggle to answer the call becomes something else.
Which means even in reboot form, they can do something different with the story and it isn't just a rehash of what we've already seen. That's potentially a good thing.
However if they slot a person of color in the exact role of Buffy and don't address how that might affect her perspective on things, then it's not a good idea.
Is it a good idea to reboot at all? That's a whole other issue. I don't think we need it, but it's so early in its inception I'm not worried about it.
And in fairness, I didn't think Charmed needed to be rebooted, but the new version looks like it's going to be awesome (in the context that Charmed was always a bit cheesy and had fun with its cheese to begin with).
Even as someone who hates Buffy down to the core of his being, these are good questions.
I honestly don't know how it should be resolved.
And it's good to finally find out Charmed was supposed to be cheesy. The show made no sense to me.
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I think I'm possibly the only person in the world to prefer the original movie to the show, so I don't actually give a damn about this. I didn't watch the old one (apart from a few episodes to determine I didn't like it), I won't be watching this.
Wise.
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I think I'm possibly the only person in the world to prefer the original movie to the show, so I don't actually give a damn about this. I didn't watch the old one (apart from a few episodes to determine I didn't like it), I won't be watching this.
I liked the show, but I do think that the original movie had a lot more fun. At time TV Buffy seemed intent on wallowing in it's own teen angst b~++*~@+. I actually found I preferred the odd-numbered seasons a lot more than the even numbered seasons, for whatever reason.
Plus Kristy Swanson was way hotter than Sarah Michelle Gellar.
I am intrigued at the idea of a new Buffy. I am sure any comic continuity would be discarded, but I would rather have sequel series rather than a full on reboot. Certainly the average high school experience has changed significantly since the original show, and I think there is some fertile ground for future stories.
The original series ended FIFTEEN YEARS AGO.
There are teens alive now who have no concept of Buffy or Angel. Personally, I have no issues with reboots, not all of them work but not all reboots or remakes suck either. Fans these days are exceptionally narrowminded and hypercritical to the point of not being able to enjoy things if it isn't EXACTLY what they want. I also think a lot of the opposition to a remake of this show are fans saying "THIS IS MINE AND I DONT WANT YOU TO CHANGE OR INTERFERE WITH THIS THING." which to an extent is understandable. However, if this reboot brings in a new generation of fans then great. Not all fans have to enjoy things in the same exact way and Buffy is really kinda DATED.
I have my own particular issues with BUFFY. I used to be a huge fan and just yesterday set aside my DVD's of S1-5 (for me the show ends with that season. I pretty much ignore everything that came afterward) to be donated to a library.
I also dont think that rebooting her as a POC is a good idea, particularly in the current climate in the US. I mean it would NEVER be a good idea, Period. But in the current climate in particular, NO. If the main character was a DIFFERENT slayer, with connections to the original Scoobies? Then that could work. But a character that supplants the original? Not so much.
And it's good to finally find out Charmed was supposed to be cheesy. The show made no sense to me.
Agreed. I have fairly low standards when it comes to what I will watch, and eye candy is sometimes enough. But I found the original Charmed to be completely unwatchable. Its mythology didn't work for me; the idea that witches are somehow "other than" human made no more sense here than it did in Bewitched; the idea that a new spell can be created simply by scribbling a rhyming couplet on a scrap of paper, or a spell can be cast via a bored, lifeless recitation of same while holding hands in front of the Book of Shadows...
ok so, Ms. Owusu-Breen is suggesting it might not be a reboot, but a sequel
if so count me in 100%
Hmm if it is a sequel with a new slayer I would give it a shot. I will miss Allison Hannigan not being in it. To be fair however Willow is Super OP.